DESOUTTER II, VH-UPS

This airplane was signed twiced in the Grand Central Air Terminal (GCAT) Register on July 9, 1931 at 11:15AM and on July 11, 1931 at 3:06PM. As with many of the landings recorded in the GCAT Register, the pilot, home base, destination and passengers, if any, were unidentified for both landings. VH-UPS, S/N D.37, was a Desoutter II of Australian registration. Although the pilot was unidentified, he was almost certainly Lee Murray, see below.

The Desoutter series was a British-licensed production of the Koolhoven F.K.41 three-seater, designed by Frederick Koolhoven and built by his N.V.Koolhoven company at Rotterdam. Production ceased when the factory was destroyed on May 10, 1940 by German bombers during the invasion of Holland at the outset of WWII.

In its day, the Koolhoven F.K.41 was attractive because it featured a comfortable cabin design at a time when most new light aircraft had open cockpits. It was all wood construction with fabric-covered surfaces. It was useful and suitable for training or touring. Only seven F.K.41s were built before the factory was destroyed, but Koolhoven sold production rights to the newly-formed Desoutter Aircraft Company in London, which modified the basic design to build a total of 41 aircraft as Desoutter I and Desoutter IIs. An article that appeared in the Winnipeg Tribune (Manitoba, CN) on October 13, 1930 described the first Desoutter to arrive in Canada. It reported, "The machine is the latest thing in plane construction of that type. It is luxuriously finished inside with place for two passengers and a pilot. It cost $5,600."

The Age (Melbourne, AU), March 24, 1931 (Source: newspapers.com)

 

Apparently Murray used his airplane in a search and rescue mission in Australia about three months before we find him at GCAT. The article, right, from The Age (Melbourne, AU), March 24, 1931 described the effort. The search was for a trimotored transport airplane operated by Australian National Airways (ANA). The crashed airplane, VH-UMF, named the "Southern Cloud," and the crash of the "Southern Sun" in Malaya, caused the ANA to fold later in 1931.

The history of VH-UPS, as well as for the other Desoutter models, with photographs, are at the link. Thanks to Tim Kalina for sharing this and the links below with us. A photograph of VH-UPS from the link is below, dated 1931. It shows VH-UPS, left, on the ground at Essendon Airport, just north of Melbourne in southern Australia.

Desoutter II VH-UPS, Ca. 1931, Essendon Airport, Melbourne, AU (Source: Link via Kalina)

Constructed in London, England in 1930 and shipped to Australia during 1930, VH-UPS was shipped back from Australia to Canada by its owner in 1931. Below, from the same link, is the chain of custody for VH-UPS. Like many Golden Age aircraft, it had a short life.

Desoutter II Desoutter II, VH-UPS, Chain of Custody, 1930-35 (Source: Link via Kalina)

Building on the information in the center rows of the table above, he British journal Flight, December 4, 1931, reported the itinerary of Murray's North American travel with VH-UPS, below. The article also described the business relationship between pilot Murray and W.S. Shackleton in London. The broad itinerary was from Vancouver, BC to Montreal via Los Angeles, San Diego, St. Louis and New York.

Flight, December 4, 1931 (Source: Woodling)

 

Notice that Murray flew VH-UPS to St. Louis. Neither he nor his airplane appear in the Parks Airport Register. The article, below, from The Age, Melbourne, AU, August 7, 1931 described Murray's departure from San Francisco, which was probably a fuel stop on his way south from Vancouver to Los Angeles where he signed our Register.

The Age, Melbourne, AU, August 7, 1931 (Source: newspapers.com)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Excellent photographs of VH-UPS are available at the City of Vancouver Archives. The photograph below shows the airplane in June, 1931 just prior to its departure from Vancouver. It appears to be in the middle of fueling. The description of the photograph at the link titles the image as, "Mr. Miller Leaving Airport."

 

Desoutter VH-UPS, Vancouver, Canada, June, 1931 (Source: Link)

Another photograph, below, shows the airplane at the same location (note the wooden ramp area) with "Mr. Miller" posing by the port fuselage. I do not know who Mr. Miller is (did the Archive misunderstand Murray's name?).

Desoutter VH-UPS, Vancouver, Canada, June, 1931 (Source: Link)

Importantly, a short movie news film of VH-UPS is available at the Vancouver Archives at the link. For best results, click the "Download Movie" option to bring the film to your browser, then choose full-screen. The details show up much better when viewed full-screen. The Archives' description of the film follows.

Item consists of a motion picture film containing Fox Movietone Newsreel footage of the opening of the Sea Island airport in Vancouver. The footage begins with a man prop-starting a small plane. Some shots of a group of men standing next to the plane are followed by the plane taxiing on the runway (VH-UPS on the side). Another shot of the same group of men [possibly including Mayor L.D. Taylor?] is followed by a cockpit shot of the pilot in the plane. Shots of the hanger and terminal building are followed by an unidentified speaker addressing the audience with a microphone and a brass band behind him.

According to the table above, once in eastern Canada, the airplane remained unregistered from December 21, 1931, when it was eliminated from Australian registry, until February 10, 1933 when it was registered to a new owner in Canada as CF-ASR. It went through at least one other owner before being destroyed in a fire in Saskatchewan November 20, 1935.

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